Hassan Al-Qazwini
Encyclopedia
Hassan Al-Qazwini is the leader of the Islamic Center of America
in Dearborn, Michigan
, largest mosque in North America, representing the Twelver Shi'a branch of Islam.
regime in the late 1960s and early 1970s, al-Qazwini and other Shia scholars and clerics increased efforts to educate the masses to combat their depravity and brainwashing. Al-Qazwini’s father Ayatollah Sayid Mortadha al-Qazwini
was among the leading scholars in spreading the word of Islam in Iraq and engaging in Islamic activism, helping to establish several Islamic schools and institutions, and serving as the principal of Imam Assadiq Islamic School in Karbala.
After several years, Saddam Hussein
identified the al-Qazwini family as an ideological threat to his regime. Consequently, he started to pressure them to abandon their mission and to support his regime. In 1980, Sayid Hassan al-Qazwini’s grandfather, Ayatollah Sayid Mohammad Sadiq al-Qazwini, was arrested and imprisoned by Saddam Hussein because he did not support the Baathist regime. Amnesty International deemed him as the oldest political prisoner in the world at the time. Since then, the al-Qazwini family never heard from him, and it was not until a few weeks after the collapse of Saddam’s regime that they found documents verifying his death in Saddam’s prisons. Consequently, Al-Qazwini’s family was forced to flee Iraq and seek refuge in Kuwait
.
, Al-Qazwini immigrated to Iran along with his family. In 1980, Al-Qazwini joined the Islamic Seminary in Qom
, Iran, the largest Shi’a
seminary in the world. After twelve years of vigorous study, Al-Qazwini graduated in 1992 with in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur'an
ic commentary. During his studies, he administered a prominent Islamic journal called “Annibras,” or The Eternal Light. The journal addressed many social, historical and Islamic issues. In addition, he authored two books: Meditation on Sahihain: A Critique of Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and Prophet Mohammad: The Ethical Prospect.
in 1986, where he established several Islamic institutions and mosques. In 1994 he founded a full-time Islamic school which enrolled students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. Realizing that there was a dire need for scholars and religious leaders in the United States, where Islam was in the crawling stage of development, al-Qazwini immigrated to the United States in late 1992 along with his family. He spent four years in Los Angeles, where he directed Azzahra Islamic Center, which was founded by his father, and conducted several Islamic Fiqh
and various other Islamic classes.
In early 1993, Al-Qazwini was invited by the Islamic Center of America, oldest Shi'a mosque in the United States to be the guest speaker for the Arabic program during the upcoming holy month of Ramadhan, where the community in Dearborn, Michigan
quickly found him responsive to their spiritual and religious needs. The Islamic Center of America asked him to join them the following year as their guest speaker during the holy month of Ramadhan and the first ten days of Muharram
, commemorating the martyrdom of the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussein.
Prior to Al-Qazwini’s visit to Michigan, he realized the importance of disseminating the message of Islam in North America in English, especially to the youth. While numerous scholars and religious leaders performed a good job reaching out to the Arabic speaking members of the community, the English-speaking generations needed someone who was capable of communicating with them, and Al-Qazwini devoted himself to learning and acquiring a fair grasp of the English language quickly.
In 1997 Al-Qazwini established residence in Dearborn, Michigan after the Islamic Center of America asked him to serve as scholar and religious leader. Al-Qazwini conducts Friday Prayer every week, delivering the first sermon in Arabic and the second in English, attracting a growing number of the younger English-speaking to religious events. He also performs an English presentation during the Sunday service, usually aimed at addressing of current issues affecting the local Muslim community as well as the global community at large.
(YMA) in 1998, becoming its spiritual leader. This organization, affiliated with the Islamic Center of America
, is aimed at educating Muslim-American youth, fostering leadership, and creating an environment in which they can actively and effectively channel their efforts in promoting Islam. In the first five years since its establishment the YMA has grown to be one of the largest Muslim youth organizations in North America. The YMA annually holds a thirty-day program during Ramadhan and a ten-day commemoration of the grandson of Muhammad, Imam Hussein. It also conducts an annual retreat during the summer, a Ramadan dinner, an Eid Al-Ghadeer dinner (which celebrates the day Muhammad appointed his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali as his successor according to the Shi'a view), and numerous other educational activities throughout the year.
Al-Qazwini has also effectively influenced numerous political leaders in America to cater to the Muslim communities. For instance, he has pressured the American leadership several times to speak out publicly against religious leaders who have repeatedly attacked Islam and Muhammad. The White House
has invited al-Qazwini on several occasions to represent the Shia-Muslim community. Al-Qazwini has met with Presidents Bill Clinton
and George W. Bush
, as well as with then-Senator
Barack Obama
. He has also received invitations from the U.S. State and Defense Departments. He also made an appearance in the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
(2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
wrote in The New York Times
:
and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadeinejad, and also with Hezbollah leader Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah
In the statement released by the Islamic Center of America, the board denied the accusations and called them an attempt to "destroy the image of the Islamic Center of America, Imam Qazwini, and the Young Muslim Association."
The statement added that the group making the accusations is in no way affiliated with the Young Muslim Association.
Qazwini, who was born in Iraq, denied accusations that he spoke out against supporters of Fadlallah as well, saying that he had a special relationship with the late cleric while adding that he was once praised by Fadlallah in a TV interview.
Qazwini also denied the accusations of embezzlement against him and said that the 350,000 dollar amount is in the center with all the relevant documents and payment receipts.
"I am going to submit all the documents that prove the falsity of these accusations," he told The Arab American News.
Qazwini did say he donated a portion of other transferred funds, about a quarter of the amount in question, to orphans in the Iraqi city of Karbala and specifically to a charity organization run by his father. He added that he chose to make the donation because of the massive amount of refugees in Iraq, with UNICEF estimating the amount at about 5 million.
. According to political journalist Debbie Schlussel
, Qazwini and his fellow organizers introduced Farrakhan as “our dear brother,” “a freedom fighter,” and “a man of courage and sacrifice.”
Islamic Center of America
The Islamic Center of America is a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, opened in 2005, that is the largest in North America. It caters mainly to the Shi'a Muslim congregation; however, all Muslims may attend this mosque....
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
, largest mosque in North America, representing the Twelver Shi'a branch of Islam.
Family
Al-Qazwini's family is well known in Iraq and the Muslim world. With the advent of the despotic Ba’athistBaath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was a political party mixing Arab nationalist and Arab socialist interests, opposed to Western imperialism, and calling for the renaissance or resurrection and unification of the Arab world into a single state. Ba'ath is also spelled Ba'th or Baath and means...
regime in the late 1960s and early 1970s, al-Qazwini and other Shia scholars and clerics increased efforts to educate the masses to combat their depravity and brainwashing. Al-Qazwini’s father Ayatollah Sayid Mortadha al-Qazwini
Mortada Al-Qazwini
Ayatollah Sayed Mortada Al-Qazwini is a religious authority who currently resides In Karbala, Iraq. His struggle to defend his faith led him from his hometown of Karbala to exile in Kuwait, Iran, the United States, and finally back to Karbala where he currently leads daily prayers at the shrine of...
was among the leading scholars in spreading the word of Islam in Iraq and engaging in Islamic activism, helping to establish several Islamic schools and institutions, and serving as the principal of Imam Assadiq Islamic School in Karbala.
After several years, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
identified the al-Qazwini family as an ideological threat to his regime. Consequently, he started to pressure them to abandon their mission and to support his regime. In 1980, Sayid Hassan al-Qazwini’s grandfather, Ayatollah Sayid Mohammad Sadiq al-Qazwini, was arrested and imprisoned by Saddam Hussein because he did not support the Baathist regime. Amnesty International deemed him as the oldest political prisoner in the world at the time. Since then, the al-Qazwini family never heard from him, and it was not until a few weeks after the collapse of Saddam’s regime that they found documents verifying his death in Saddam’s prisons. Consequently, Al-Qazwini’s family was forced to flee Iraq and seek refuge in Kuwait
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait is a sovereign Arab state situated in the north-east of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south at Khafji, and Iraq to the north at Basra. It lies on the north-western shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the...
.
Early life
In Kuwait, Al-Qazwini decided to pursue the path of his forefathers of becoming a scholar of Islam and religious leader. At that time, Iraq was at war with Kuwait. Therefore, at the inception of the Islamic Revolution in IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Al-Qazwini immigrated to Iran along with his family. In 1980, Al-Qazwini joined the Islamic Seminary in Qom
Qom
Qom is a city in Iran. It lies by road southwest of Tehran and is the capital of Qom Province. At the 2006 census, its population was 957,496, in 241,827 families. It is situated on the banks of the Qom River....
, Iran, the largest Shi’a
Shi'a Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'ites or Shias. "Shia" is the short form of the historic phrase Shīʻatu ʻAlī , meaning "followers of Ali", "faction of Ali", or "party of Ali".Like other schools of thought in Islam, Shia Islam is...
seminary in the world. After twelve years of vigorous study, Al-Qazwini graduated in 1992 with in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of Islamic jurisprudence and Qur'an
Qur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
ic commentary. During his studies, he administered a prominent Islamic journal called “Annibras,” or The Eternal Light. The journal addressed many social, historical and Islamic issues. In addition, he authored two books: Meditation on Sahihain: A Critique of Sahih Al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, and Prophet Mohammad: The Ethical Prospect.
Immigration to the United States
Al-Qazwini’s father immigrated to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1986, where he established several Islamic institutions and mosques. In 1994 he founded a full-time Islamic school which enrolled students from pre-kindergarten to twelfth grade. Realizing that there was a dire need for scholars and religious leaders in the United States, where Islam was in the crawling stage of development, al-Qazwini immigrated to the United States in late 1992 along with his family. He spent four years in Los Angeles, where he directed Azzahra Islamic Center, which was founded by his father, and conducted several Islamic Fiqh
Fiqh
Fiqh is Islamic jurisprudence. Fiqh is an expansion of the code of conduct expounded in the Quran, often supplemented by tradition and implemented by the rulings and interpretations of Islamic jurists....
and various other Islamic classes.
In early 1993, Al-Qazwini was invited by the Islamic Center of America, oldest Shi'a mosque in the United States to be the guest speaker for the Arabic program during the upcoming holy month of Ramadhan, where the community in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
quickly found him responsive to their spiritual and religious needs. The Islamic Center of America asked him to join them the following year as their guest speaker during the holy month of Ramadhan and the first ten days of Muharram
Muharram
Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited...
, commemorating the martyrdom of the beloved grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Hussein.
Prior to Al-Qazwini’s visit to Michigan, he realized the importance of disseminating the message of Islam in North America in English, especially to the youth. While numerous scholars and religious leaders performed a good job reaching out to the Arabic speaking members of the community, the English-speaking generations needed someone who was capable of communicating with them, and Al-Qazwini devoted himself to learning and acquiring a fair grasp of the English language quickly.
In 1997 Al-Qazwini established residence in Dearborn, Michigan after the Islamic Center of America asked him to serve as scholar and religious leader. Al-Qazwini conducts Friday Prayer every week, delivering the first sermon in Arabic and the second in English, attracting a growing number of the younger English-speaking to religious events. He also performs an English presentation during the Sunday service, usually aimed at addressing of current issues affecting the local Muslim community as well as the global community at large.
YMA
Realizing that the greatest energy and potential rested in the younger generation, Al-Qazwini founded the Young Muslim AssociationYoung Muslim Association
The Young Muslim Association is an Islamic organization that is open to people of all ages. The YMA regularly schedules programs and events throughout the year, most notable is its Friday programs which occur all year long in the evenings. The YMA is headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United...
(YMA) in 1998, becoming its spiritual leader. This organization, affiliated with the Islamic Center of America
Islamic Center of America
The Islamic Center of America is a mosque in Dearborn, Michigan, opened in 2005, that is the largest in North America. It caters mainly to the Shi'a Muslim congregation; however, all Muslims may attend this mosque....
, is aimed at educating Muslim-American youth, fostering leadership, and creating an environment in which they can actively and effectively channel their efforts in promoting Islam. In the first five years since its establishment the YMA has grown to be one of the largest Muslim youth organizations in North America. The YMA annually holds a thirty-day program during Ramadhan and a ten-day commemoration of the grandson of Muhammad, Imam Hussein. It also conducts an annual retreat during the summer, a Ramadan dinner, an Eid Al-Ghadeer dinner (which celebrates the day Muhammad appointed his cousin and son-in-law Imam Ali as his successor according to the Shi'a view), and numerous other educational activities throughout the year.
Public appearances
Since September 11 attacks, al-Qazwini stepped-up efforts to represent American Muslims, speaking at over a hundred churches, colleges and universities hoping to dispel what he sees as common misconceptions about them. As Congressman John D. Dingell put it at the 108th Congress session after Al-Qazwini offered the prayer for the opening session:Imam Qazwini has become a leading voice for Muslims in America. He has spoken movingly of the need for reconciliation, for tolerance, and for the recognition of our humanity. He has worked with leaders in both the Christian and Jewish communities to help bridge the differences between us and to dispel prejudice. His work has touched Muslim and non-Muslim alike, and his devotion to our State and our community of Dearborn has been recognized by the mayor, the governor, and by PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
[George W.] BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
.
Al-Qazwini has also effectively influenced numerous political leaders in America to cater to the Muslim communities. For instance, he has pressured the American leadership several times to speak out publicly against religious leaders who have repeatedly attacked Islam and Muhammad. The White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
has invited al-Qazwini on several occasions to represent the Shia-Muslim community. Al-Qazwini has met with Presidents Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, as well as with then-Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
. He has also received invitations from the U.S. State and Defense Departments. He also made an appearance in the award-winning, PBS-broadcast documentary Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet
Muhammad: Legacy of the Prophet is a PBS documentary film about the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad based on historical records and on the stories of living American Muslims who call Muhammad the Messenger of God...
(2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation.
American Crescent
Al-Qazwini is the author of American Crescent: A Muslim Cleric on the Power of His Faith, the Struggle Against Prejudice, and the Future of Islam and America. Rashid Khalidi of Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
wrote in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
:
This book is many things. It is, first, a personal chronicle of Imam Hassan Qazwini’s own trajectory from Karbala, Iraq, where he was born in 1964, to exile in Kuwait and Iran, to Dearborn, Mich., where he currently heads the Islamic Center of America. Second, it is an argument for Qazwini’s variety of Shia Islam, rooted in Iraq and Iran and adapted for America. Finally, it is a political statement — in fact, two of them — a plea for Muslim Americans to immerse themselves in the life of the United States while simultaneously deepening their identification as Muslims, and also for a particular outcome in Iraq, where Qazwini’s father, a leading ayatollah, is Imam of the mosque of Imam Hussein in Karbala. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/books/review/Khalidi-t.html?8bu&emc=bu
Connections with the Iranian government and Hezbollah
Al-Qazwini maintains friendly relations with the government of IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadeinejad, and also with Hezbollah leader Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah
Khums Controversy
Following a memorial service for the late Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah of Lebanon in July, a group calling itself the "Muslim Youth Congregation" called for the return of $350,000 to the center and accused the board of trustees of negligence in the matter. The group had left notes on cars in the center's parking lot during the ceremony.In the statement released by the Islamic Center of America, the board denied the accusations and called them an attempt to "destroy the image of the Islamic Center of America, Imam Qazwini, and the Young Muslim Association."
The statement added that the group making the accusations is in no way affiliated with the Young Muslim Association.
Qazwini, who was born in Iraq, denied accusations that he spoke out against supporters of Fadlallah as well, saying that he had a special relationship with the late cleric while adding that he was once praised by Fadlallah in a TV interview.
Qazwini also denied the accusations of embezzlement against him and said that the 350,000 dollar amount is in the center with all the relevant documents and payment receipts.
"I am going to submit all the documents that prove the falsity of these accusations," he told The Arab American News.
Qazwini did say he donated a portion of other transferred funds, about a quarter of the amount in question, to orphans in the Iraqi city of Karbala and specifically to a charity organization run by his father. He added that he chose to make the donation because of the massive amount of refugees in Iraq, with UNICEF estimating the amount at about 5 million.
Connections with the Nation of Islam
On November 15, 1998, Qazwini’s ICOA sponsored an event attended by over 1,000, mainly Arab Muslim-Americans, in which the featured speaker was Nation of Islam leader Louis FarrakhanLouis Farrakhan
Louis Farrakhan Muhammad, Sr. is the leader of the African-American religious movement the Nation of Islam . He served as the minister of major mosques in Boston and Harlem, and was appointed by the longtime NOI leader, Elijah Muhammad, before his death in 1975, as the National Representative of...
. According to political journalist Debbie Schlussel
Debbie Schlussel
Debbie Schlussel is an American attorney, film critic, political commentator, and a conservative blogger who focuses particularly on Islam and American Muslims. Her writing frequently targets the largely Muslim population of the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, which she refers to as "Dearbornistan"...
, Qazwini and his fellow organizers introduced Farrakhan as “our dear brother,” “a freedom fighter,” and “a man of courage and sacrifice.”